


Caroling

by Becky102



Series: Winter In Detroit [2]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Established Relationship, Gavin Reed Not Being an Asshole, M/M, Music, choir
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2020-12-02
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:13:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27782779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Becky102/pseuds/Becky102
Summary: Gavin rediscovers his old choir music from high school, and Nines discovers that he's a bass.
Relationships: Connor/Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed, Upgraded Connor | RK900 & Gavin Reed, Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed
Series: Winter In Detroit [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2030794
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	Caroling

One afternoon, while Gavin was searching for his Christmas decorations in the garage, he stumbled upon an old file box. Its lid was sagging after having a heavy trunk on top of it for several years. He put down the bag of ornaments and the tree skirt and walked over to the box, removing the heavy brown trunk on top of it and dusting it off. Opening the lid, it revealed binders and folders of old choir sheet music.

One look at Gavin now, and you would never have guessed he was in the performing arts for the majority of his school life, before he completely changed his career path to criminal justice. In elementary school, he joined the orchestra on the violin, but found it too difficult. His mother encouraged him to join the choir. He fondly remembered how much his mother hummed and sang while working in the house. So when he joined the choir, his chatty behavior was channeled through music. He remained in the school choir until senior year of high school. He enjoyed the competitions and festivals, as they fueled his competitive drive. Joining the barbershop quartet held many quirky memories as well. He had a few solos during his last two years of high school, as he had gained a reputation for being one of the strongest tenor voices those years. He was promoted to leadership in senior year, leading frequent sectionals and offering feedback whenever his teacher asked for it.

Years of disuse of his voice meant that he probably lost most of his tenor range now. And now that alcohol, coffee, and cigarettes were in the mix now, his vocal health was not what it used to be. But flipping through his music, he found the old choir handbook and vocal exercises packets. He audiated the old exercises in his head, and then moved on to flipping through the repertoire.

Choir was his favorite class during middle school and high school. He made many friends during that time, but they’ve long since moved on from him. He missed them. He missed hearing how the audience would cheer and clap during concerts, how his concert tux never fit quite right, or how his teacher would show him kindness and support when his father wouldn’t. He missed everything about choir. 

Nines entered the garage a few moments later, interrupting his nostalgia.

Gavin turned around, holding up some sheet music. “Hey Nines, check this out.”

The android glided over to his partner, no doubt scanning the sheet music. He had never been designed to pursue musical activities, so he was in unfamiliar territory. “Yes, Gavin?”

“You ever seen sheet music before?”

Nines’ mind supplied him with the necessary skills to read the music before him. “No, but I of course have researched how to read it just now. How do you have this music?”

“I was a choir kid,” Gavin answered. “This is old sheet music from the glory days.”

“Choir? How come I never knew this of you?” Nines inquired.

Gavin shrugged. “Long story. Do you know how to sing?”

“My voice was never designed to sing, per se. Only to speak,” Nines shook his head.

His partner grinned and he took out some sheet music labelled “Holiday”. “If you had to guess, what’s your vocal range? I was a tenor in high school.”

Nines’ voice technically had the power of imitation and modulation. One moment he could replicate the squawks of parrots, the next he could pitch his voice two octaves higher. He could incorporate greater static in his voice to mimic the sound of being on a phone call with poor connection. Additionally, he could increase the volume of his voice to project over large crowds. Hell, he’d even imitated Gavin’s voice on more than one occasion, much to Gavin’s shock. So technically, he could sing in any range that was asked of him. He explained to Gavin as much.

Gavin shook his head. “That’s not really your voice, you know that right? Every singer has their own unique sound when they sing.”

Nines blinked. Despite him being deviant for nearly a year, he was always learning new things about what constituted his identity. He never truly thought about his voice being a part of his identity. Sure, his default voice was male, and it could be intimidating even when he wasn’t trying. Picking up on Connor’s curious nature, he replied, “How does one find their sound?”

“I thought you’d never ask,” Gavin said. “Come on, let’s do some vocal exercises, buddy.”

Delighted at Gavin’s enthusiasm, he followed the detective out of the garage. They spent two hours going through vocal exploration, scales and theory, sight reading the holiday tunes, and even listening to famous singers. Gavin discovered that Nines had a beautiful bass voice within the first hour, and he made sure that he praised him for finding a suitable range. Of course, as an android, he needed significantly less time to find and develop his range, as his adaptability programming committed the exercises to memory. Nearing the end of the second hour, they were singing duets together. Gavin sometimes would forget to sing his parts because he was so entranced by Nines’ voice, the one he had made his own. 

“Thank you Gavin,” Nines said after they had stacked the sheet music on the coffee table. “You sing beautifully, and you’re an excellent teacher as well.”

Warmth spread across Gavin’s body. Hearing his partner praise him after Nines himself had made so much progress was uplifting. It felt damn good to sing again, especially now that he had someone to sing with.

“Thanks Nines, you’re not so bad yourself,” Gavin teased. Nines grinned at him, taking the jest in stride. 

“You know,” Gavin continued, “there’s a community caroling group that rehearses on twice a week up until the week of Christmas. Would you...maybe want to join with me?” Gavin had been interested in joining the community ensemble for years, but never felt confident because at the time, he wanted to uphold his reputation of being a brash tough guy. 

Blue eyes shined back at him, loving this moment between them and longing to feel his partner resonate next to him again. “Yes, of course, Gavin.”

**Author's Note:**

> Fun Fact about me: I was actually a band kid, so technically I don't have a lot of experience with being in choir, so I've incorporated things I know are similar between the two ensembles like going to festivals, concerts, and the overall family community that each ensemble has in their own ways. If you're in choir or are a professional vocalist, please let me know of any inaccuracies!


End file.
